Jake and Broadway

"June 13, 2007 --IT looks as if Jake Gyllenhaal will make his Broadway debut this fall in a new play loosely based on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign for the White House.

Gyllenhaal, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," took part in a hush-hush reading last week of Beau Willimon's "Farragut North."

The actor played a young, idealistic communications director who works for an inspiring, though unorthodox, presidential candidate. During the campaign, his career is done in by more seasoned politicos who thrive on poisonous partisan politics, dirty tricks and back-stabbing.

James Lapine, who directed "Spelling Bee" and "Sunday in the Park With George," staged the reading, which also featured Mark Blum, Denis O'Hare (a Tony winner for "Take Me Out"), Jessica Hecht and Alison Pill ("Blackbird").

"Farragut North" is named after the Washington, D.C., Metro station near K Street, where many lobbyists have their offices.

Willimon worked for Dean during the 2004 presidential race. He also worked on Chuck Schumer's 1998 U.S. Senate race, Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate race and Bill Bradley's 2000 presidential bid.

The play, says a source, "is a real insider's look at political campaigns."

People involved in the reading say it reminds them of "Primary Colors," Joe Klein's novel about the Clintons, and "The Best Man," Gore Vidal's gripping 1964 play about presidential politics.

Gyllenhaal, who's said to be eager to do a Broadway play, acquitted himself well.

"He was handsome and charming, very compelling in the role," my spy says.

Gyllenhaal will decide at the end of the week whether to take the play to Broadway, sources say. If he says yes, his producer will be Jeffrey Richards, who won a Tony Sunday night for "Spring Awakening." 'SPRING Awakening" got a nice pop at the box office this week, even though Tony ratings hit an all-time low.

The show, which was named Best Musical, took in $1.2 million by the close of business Monday. Sales were fairly robust yesterday as well, with $300,000 in the bank by 2 p.m.

An insider says much of that business is coming from ticket brokers, who've held back from buying a lot of seats because the show, while critically acclaimed, has hardly been a financial juggernaut.

But with so many Broadway shows about to close, "Spring Awakening" is likely to have a strong summer".
Source: Nypost.com